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“Moçambique Mosaic” includes a study of all manner of Mozambican crafts. It includes vessels for food and drink, pottery, pipes, basketry, stools, miscellaneous household objects, clothing and adornments, spears, bows and arrows, swords, dancing weapons, musical instruments and much else besides.

The book also looks at the level of technology applied in various forms of occupations and the interaction between the indigenous people of Moçambique and how they have been able to absorb foreign influences. The story spans several millennia and shows how traditional practices and crafts persist right through to the modern day.

Bibiane suffers in isolation with cataract blindness. As a respected elder and the matriarch of her family, she should be enjoying time with her grandchildren and her community. Instead she’s totally dependent on her grandson to lead her around even for basic things like going to the toilet or getting to the river for a bath.

But Bibiane’s condition is completely curable. The problem is that there are not enough eye doctors in PNG. For a population of 7.2 million people there are only 9 eye doctors. As a result people like Bibiane have been living with blindness for years.

The Fred Hollows Foundation NZ is working to change this picture. From its clinic in Madang, The Foundation is training local eye doctors and nurses to help the people of PNG, people like Bibiane.

Vlad Sokhin returns to PNG to spend extended periods of time with Bibiane and her family. This video is an intimate portrait of Bibiane’s story of transformation. He has behind the scenes access to the medical facilities at Modilon Hospital and he tenderly takes us into her world of sadness and hope.

The video is an emotional portrait of one of the thousands of patients The Foundation helps each year. Because of lack of access to adequate health care, the human rights of Bibiane have been infringed and her quality of life has suffered enormously. The Foundation continues the legacy of Prof Fred Hollows as a champion of human dignity and social justice. The Foundation works to ensure that the developing world does not get second-rate eye care, but rather everyone should be able to see again as a human right.

Very happy to receive the Grand Prix Best Photographer of the Year for my work on Child Slavery in Haiti. Special thanks to the Restavek Freedom Foundation that supported my work while I was in Haiti.
Moscow, Russia